In a non-union multiple employer profit sharing plan with 2 employers who do not share employees, can Co A designate its contribution to only be allocated to A employees and Co B designate its to only be designated to B employees? Can you provide me with ANY kind of cite, even a hornbook excerpt? If this is possible, can the plan still file one 5500?

I just finished doing some research of my own about this exact question.

On this site you can do a search for "Multiple Employer Plans". I did that and was directed to an article by Derrin Watson. His article is under the main heading of "Who's The Employer" and then "Multiple Employer Consequences."

The other reference that was a big help to me was Sal Tripodi's ERISA Outline Book. I looked in the first chapter, "Important Definitions" and looked up "Multiple Employers".

I hope this helps.

It has to be that way because only a common law employer can make contributions for their employees. A could not contribute to B's employees. However, if the multiple employer plan gives the trustee the power to pay benefits to B's employees from assets of A's, only one 5500 has to be filed. If not, two separate 5500s must be filed. See the 5500 instruction booklet under "multiple employer plan other". Most of the multple employer plans have the language giving the trustee the power just to avoid filing a multitude of 5500s. As a practical matter shifting assets to pay benefits is never done because the fiduciary must still have a good reason to do it and I can't think of one. The real advantage to the multiple is that there is only one trust to deal with, benefits and methods of contributions can be modified in the adoption agreement employer by employer.